Vibrant ‘Laughs in Spanish’ funny in any language

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON —   A demographic largely ignored by the theater at large is having its time in the spotlight.

In a nice juxtaposition, the presentation of “Laughs in Spanish” by Alexis Scheer at   SpeakEasy Stage Company comes hard on the heels on the announcement that the American Repertory Theatre’s production of last year’s “Real Women Have Curves” will have a run on Broadway. In Gloucester, Teatro Chelsea and Gloucester Stage are co-producing Tony Meneses’s “The Hombres” in Gloucester before a run at Chelsea Theatre Works, all during Hispanic Cultural Month.

I have not reviewed “The Hombres” but the other two shows feature vibrant LatinX cultures with a strong accent on family and relationships, and both productions have generous helpings of humor, heart and warmth woven into the relationships depicted,

“Laughs in Spanish” takes place in the midst of the Art Basel festival in Miami in December. Mariana (Rebekah Rae Robles) – aka Mari – runs an art gallery in an industrial warehouse in a suburb of Miami. Robles shone in the role of Milo Davenport in Reagle Music Theatre’s excellent recent production of “An American in Paris.”

There’s sheer terror when Mari discovers that all of the painting that were to be the centerpiece of the exhibition planned for that evening have vanished, leaving three blank walls on Erik D. Diaz’s set.

She extensively grills her intern, Carolina – aka Caro – played by Luz Lopez, about how the theft could have occurred and what she might know about it.

As that goes on, Juan (Daniel Rios Jr.), a genial Miami-Dade police officer and Caro’s boyfriend, expresses optimism that the police can retrieve the art but urges Mari to consider another artist such as Caro —  just in case.

The seed is planted that Juan and/or Caro know more than they are admitting.

The entire tempo of the production is turned up a notch with the entrance of Mari’s mother, an actress named Estella (Paola Ferrer). She is extremely self-centered but exudes charisma and confidence, even as in her 50s she describes the bumpy road of any actress of a certain age.  Juan swoons about Estrella’s role as “a radioactive maid” in the latest “Barman” movie.  Estrella’s star is, in her own mind, undiminished as she is about to embark on an HBO series.

The scars from the mother-daughter relationship are still visible on Mari, as her mother was largely working and absent from her life for long stretches and Mari hasn’t forgotten or forgiven.

And when Estrella’s new personal assistant turns out to be a woman named Jenny, with whom Mari had a romantic fling in college, the lead-up to the looming exhibition gets even more complicated.

“Laughs in Spanish” is presented in English with smatterings of Spanish, usually confined to certain expressions, profane or otherwise.

In her script Scheer notes that all of the characters except for Jenny are native Spanish speakers and often engage in “code-switching,” speaking one way while conversing with fellow Spanish-speakers, and another way when, say, Mari is on the phone with her clients.  It is a source of much of the humor in the play.

Events begin to careen out of balance when during a ride in Juan’s patrol car with sirens screaming, Caro reveals she is pregnant and Juan admits he stole the paintings.

There will still be an exhibition, of course, and Estrella will play a large part, with a moving monologue about her relationship with her daughter that is at the heart of the piece.

Director Mariela López-Ponce keeps the pace brisk and buoyant, even when things get somewhat darker as mother and daughter struggle to find common ground.

Rebecca Glick’s costumes are pure eye candy, especially so when Estrella arrives to turn up the volume on the glamor.

Scheer was born and raised in Miami in what her program biography called a “Jewish-Columbian” household but has an extensive number of local connections.  She holds a BFA in musical theater from the Boston Conservatory  — where she studied under SpeakEasy Artistic Director Paul Daigneault — and an MFA in playwriting from Boston University.

A critic’s full disclosure: I largely panned a 2018 production of Scheer’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” at the Boston Center for the Arts, recognizing the playwright’s talent but having problems with the play’s construction; it ultimately found great success in an off-Broadway production.

No pan here. “Laughs in Spanish” works on several levels, including as a humorous Latin-flavored cultural primer and a tale of relationships among colorful characters balancing on slippery slopes.

The SpeakEasy Stage Company production of “Laughs in Spanish.” Play by Alexis Scheer. Directed by Mariela López-Ponce. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through Oct. 12. Tickets start at $25. 617-933-8600, www.speakeasystage.com